Compacting device for refuse containers



Dec. 3, 1968 E. G. SMEDLUND 3,413,913

COMFACTING DEVICE FOR REFUSE CONTAINERS Filed April 20, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 0 INVENTOR. Ejon 60071475 QJIunJ BY2 a IN VEN TOR.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E. G. SMEDLUND COMPACTING DEVICE FOR REFUSE CONTAINERS Dec. 3, 1968 Filed April 20, 1967 United States Patent 3,413,913 COMPACTING DEVICE FOR REFUSE CONTAINERS Egon Gunnar Smedlund, Litoringvagen 68,

Halmstad, Sweden Filed Apr. 20, 1967, Ser. No. 632,400 8 Claims. (Cl. 100-53) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for compacting refuse in successive containers or sacks, the sacks being successively presented below a refuse chute for filling. Adjacent to the refuse chute is a reciprocating carriage transporting a compactor or tamping device. The carriage, upon movement toward the sack in which the contents are to be taped or. compacted, brings a compactor head to a position over the mouth of the filled sack and causes the descent of the head into the sack to contact and compress or compact the refuse therein. The amount of compression is regulatable andwhen a predetermined amount of resistance to compression is reached, the compression by the compactor head is ceased; the head is elevated out of the sack and the carriage is retracted to its initial position. Means is also provided by which the filled sack, with its compacted contents, is moved away from filling position and another sack moved to position to be filled and its contents compressed or compacted.

The present invention relates to an apparatus intended for the collection and removal of refuse delivered from a refuse chute, and particularly such a chute as is found in large buildings. In order to contain as large a quantity of refuse as possible in a collection sack, it is desirable to compact the refuse in the sack. However, when this is done, it is desirable to avoid the use of such compression as would be likely to tear the sack. The present invention contemplates the use of a device for compacting the refuse in containers such as sacks, by means of a compacting ram working in the container and which will avoid the use of compression likely to damage the container, particularly when it is a sack.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein an illustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed,

FIG. 1 shows the device as viewed from one side;

FIG. 2 is a view from the front as seen from the left in FIG. 1; 1

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the device;

FIGS. 4 to show, in a larger scale details of the device; FIG. 7 being a vertical sectional view takenon the line VII-VII in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view taken entire line IXIX in FIG. 10.

FIGS. 11 to 14 show the various working positions of the upper portion of the device.

A refuse chute is shown at 1 and 2 shows an open sack located under the chute, the sack being suspended in a carriage 3 provided with four wheels, of which the wheels 4 to 6 are visible in FIGS. 1 and 2. The wheels are arranged to run along rails 7 and 8 to a main frame on which the device of the present invention is mounted.

To the left of the carriage 3 is shown a magazine containing folded sacks 9 suspended in carriages 10 having wheels 11 and 12. The carriages are retained in the filling position by a retainer arm 13 which releases when the filled sack is to be moved away from below the refuse chute. When the sack has been filled with refuse, a beam of light from a lamp directed toward a photocell 14 is broken and causes in a known manner, an impulse to be received which causes the starting of the electric motor M which drives a chain 15 engaging a sprocket on the motor, and over a sprocket 16 journalled on a shaft 17 which in turn is carried by a cross bar 18. The chain is connected to a flight 19 carried by an arm 20 which in turn 5 is fixed to the frame 21, that is U-shaped as seen from above, of a compactor carriage that is enabled, by means of wheels 22 to 25 to move along rails 26 and 27, carried by the rails 7 of the main frame. The rails 26 and 27 are directed downwardly in a direction toward the refuse chute. The cross bar 18 is fixed to the rails 26 and 27, which also support a bracket 28 for the motor M which is mounted on a base plate 29.

Four parallel arms 30, 31, 32 and 33 are arranged in pairs in the arm 20 to pivot at one end about pins 34 and 35. At their other ends, the arms are journalled in pins 36 and 37 attaching them to a piston rod 38 which carries a ram or tamping head in the form of a plate 39 at its lower end. The upper arms 30 and 31 are fixed to an axle 40 which is arranged by means of wheels 41 and 42 to move along rails 26 and 27. If the carriage is moved from the position in FIG. 11 to the left, the arms 30 to 33 will be moved in parallel in the manner shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, so that the plate 39 is pressed down into the sack and the refuse contained therein is compacted in the sack.

In order that the device shall not be overloaded, the motor M has a hinged connection to the plate 29 by means of a shaft 69 as shown in FIG. 4. At the opposite side a spring 70 is inserted between the motor and theplate 29 and there is a switch 71 located under the motor. When a certain tension is developed in the chain 15, the spring 70 will be compressed and the motor will operate the switch to cut oif current to the motor which then stops. When the sack is filled with the compacted refuse, the sack must be removed from below the refuse chute and replaced by one of the stored sacks. For this purpose there is an arm 44 fixed to the U-shaped frame 21, this arm supporting, by means of a shaft 52, a pivotal drag link 45 provided with a roller 46 rotative on a spindle 48 at one end, and a hook 47 at the other end.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the device in a larger scale. A tension spring 51, held between a pin 49 on arm 44 and a pin 50 on the drag link 45 tends to keep the drag link in the positions represented by solid and dotted lines respe'ctively in FIG. 4. If the roller 46 is Pressed upwardly,

' the spring 51 is tensioned increasingly until the pivoting of the link 45 causes the pin 50 to become situated on the other side of the shaft 52, whereupon the spring moves over center and strives to keep the link 45 in the position shown in dotted lines.

The upward movement of the roller 46 is attained by means of an angle iron 53 located on the rail 7 in such a way that when the compactor carriage moves to the leftthe roller 46 rolls over the angle iron 53 in the manner shown in FIG. 12. The hook 47 is adapted to engage in stirrups 54, 55 and 56 fixed to the sack carriages.

When the motor starts in response to an impulse received from the photocell when a sack is filled, the compactor carriage is moved to the left, since the flight 19 is connected to the chain 15. The arm 44 and the drag link 45 must follow. The roller 46 rolls up along the angle iron 53 and the drag link 45 is flipped over to the position shown in dotted lines, whereupon the hook 47 engages with stirrup 54 and the sack can be moved away by causing the compactor carriage to move to the right.

If the refuse should be easily compressible, such as it is when it is largely composed of crumpled newspapers or the like, the plate 39 Will encounter but slight resistance and will therefore continue its descent until the stirrup 54 swings the drag link 45 upwardly in the manner shown in FIG. 14 to its original position at the same time that the 3 compactor carriage is caused to be returned by a device such as shown in FIGS. 7 to 10.

When more refuse is collected in the sack the sequence will be repeated and when the sack is filled with the compacted or compressed refuse, the sack will be pulled away and an empty sack will be moved forwardly from the magazine an opened-up to place it in receiving position under the refuse chute. In this manner a change of the sacks takes place.

In order to change the direction of movement of the compactor carriage and to achieve the required refuse compacting pressure, the device may be equipped with the construction shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 or with the alternative construction shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. In the construction shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 a slightly more than half-sprocket 55 is journalled on the flight 19 by means of a shaft 56. The sprocket 55 is in engagement with the lower stretch of the chain 15. The sprocket 55 has two pins 57 and 58 which, due to the effect of a compression spring 61, are in contact with an arm 59 which is journalled to pivot on shaft 60. The force of the spring can be adjusted by means of an adjustment screw 62. When the chain 15 runs around its sprockets, the carrier 19 accompanics it because the sprocket 55 is prevented from rotating by the pins 57 and 58. If however, the compactor carriage offers greater resistance due to the density of the material being compacted, then the pin 58 will depress the arm 59, whereupon the sprocket 55 will rotate for a half turn until the pin 57 makes contact with the arm 59. In this position the sprocket 55 is in engagement with the upper part of the chain 15, which has the effect that the compactor carriage will be returned until it meets a stop, when the sprocket 55 again turns a half turn and the carriage moves forwardly once more for repeated compaction.

In the alternative construction shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a pin 63 on the chain 15 is extended and rests in contact with two arms 64, 65 which are rotatable around a shaft 66 journalled in the carrier 19. A compression spring 67 rests against arms 64, 65. When there is resistance to the movement of the carriage, the pressure of the pin 63 against the arms 64 and 65 increases so that the arms turn slightly while compressing the spring 67. The pins 63 can then pass the flight until in its upper position it again makes contact with said arms, the carriage now returning. An adjusting screw for the spring 67 is shown at 68 to permit setting of the required compacting pressure. During the compaction or compression the refuse chute may be closed by some type of known closure.

The apparatus has herein been described in connection with the compression and compaction or refuse or rubbish, but it will be apparent that it is also applicable to other compressible or compactable materials.

Having thus described an embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same is not to be restricted thereto, but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. A device for compacting material such as refuse or rubbish in a container such as a sack comprising, a compacting ram for entering a sack and exerting pressure on the contents thereof, a compactor carriage moving horizontally and with a reciprocating movement, said carriage being provided with a pivoted guiding device for the ram, said guiding device causing the ram to descend into the sack to compact the refuse therein when the carriage is moved toward the sack, rails on which the carriage travels, said rails sloping toward the sack, the rails being operative on the guiding device in such a way that When the carriage is moved toward the sack, the ram is affected by the rails and the ram compacts the refuse.

Z. A device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the sacks are supported in carriages, rails on which the carriages run, the compactor carriage having coupling means for connection to the sack carriages and for the movement of successive sacks from a magazine to a refuse chute for the subsequent removal therefrom of filled and compacted containers.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein coupling means comprises a pivotal, spring-loaded drag link provided with a hook for engaging in a stirrup on a container carriage, whereby the pivotal movement of the hook to the position of engagement is obtained by means of a roller journalled in an arm guided by an angle iron.

4. A device according to claim 3, wherein the drag link is arranged to be disengaged in the event of excessive downward motion of the compactor ram resulting from insufiicient resistance to compression, so that the compactor carriage may be returned for renewed compactive action in the same container.

5. A device according to claim 1, wherein the compactor carriage is reciprocated by means of a connectable flight to a motor-driven endless chain extending around two sprockets, one of which is coupled to a motor.

6. A device according to claim 5, wherein the flight consists of a sprocket journalled on the compactor carriage and which can be alternately engaged in a forwardmoving or return-moving portion of the chain and is capable of being locked in either of said positions.

7. A device according to claim 5, wherein the com pactor carriage has a pressure-actuated pivoted arm (64, which can rest in contact with an extended pin (63) on the drive chain for alternate engagement with the forward-moving or the return portions of the chain.

8. A device according to claim 5, wherein the drive motor is hinged so that when a certain tension is created in the driving chain the motor will be pivoted, an adjustable spring over which the motor is pivotally mounted and by means of which the magnitude of the tension is determined, and a switch operated by the movement of the motor to thereby open the circuit to the motor and cease the operation thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,970,533 2/1961 Allen -226 2,984,957 5/1961 Lundgren 100-221 XR 3,231,107 1/1966 Clar 100-49 XR 3,327,620 6/1967 Cole 100-53 XR BILLY J. WILHITE, Primary Examiner. 

